Music

One mystery contestant on "The Masked Singer" isn't looking to make any more friends ... pissing off fellow masked celebs with maybe the biggest entourage ever.

Backstage sources at 'TMS' tell us ... in the past 6 seasons, they've never seen a contestant show up with a crew this big. Usually, celebs roll solo at rehearsals to avoid revealing their identity, but this person seems unconcerned, opting to bring a massive group with them!

Friends, managers, beauty and hair team, family members... this contestant rolls deep.

We've also learned that the sheer size of this celebrity's entourage has pissed off other contestants backstage ... one contestant in a trailer close to them complained to producers about the noise coming from the giant posse ... turning relaxing downtime into a giant headache.

Our sources won't reveal which contestant rolls with the giant entourage -- not wanting to give away who this might be -- so fans will have to come to their own conclusions for the time being.

Britney Spears' family secrets and sexy photoshoots have come to a very abrupt halt ... as the singer's Instagram account mysteriously disappeared off the site.

On Wednesday, Brit's IG disappeared without a trace, meaning she's losing her ability to speak out -- and show off -- like she normally does ... as you're aware, Britney used her social media to talk about family drama, the conservatorship, and love for fiancé Sam Asghari.

Confusion is moving fast among fans, with no answer yet as to why she's dropped off. Sam also has yet to comment publicly on her disappearing act.

A few weeks ago, Britney posted about her big return to Las Vegas -- as a tourist instead of a performer -- saying she loved being "treated as an equal" for once ...none of her recent posts foreshadowed a deletion.

While she used her platform to talk about the high points in her life, she's been known to use it as a weapon against those that hurt her ... making a lengthy post separate from her Vegas story, Britney went off at the entire entertainment industry, saying she was on the clock 7 days a week with little privacy.

She said, "I gave my all when I worked only to be literally thrown away … I was nothing more than a puppet to my family yet to the public I just performed on stage and did what I was told to do."

We have reached out to Instagram for comment ... so far, no word back.

Before this young girl in pink created a global empire with a career in fashion and music, she was just a happy kid taking pictures with her mom and younger sister in England.

Touring around the world as a musical artist, she somehow managed to meet and marry one of People Magazine's 'Sexiest Men Alive.' You can find her products at any local mall, but it will cost you a pretty penny.

While this trendy gal with a great, big smile is most known for her singing and dance moves, she's also a busy mom with 4 kids.

Russell Wilson and Ciara are wasting no time giving back to their new community -- the power couple visited patients at a Denver children's hospital ... just one week after Russ was traded to the Broncos.

The star quarterback and his famous wife were spotted at the medical facility early Tuesday afternoon ... talking with kids and taking photos at The Ryan Seacrest Foundation Studios.

Denver-based sports reporter Taylor Brooks shared the news on Tuesday ... saying someone who was getting a checkup at the hospital spotted Russ and Ciara making rounds, so they decided to take a snap of their visit.

In the pic, you can see Ciara is already supporting her man's new team -- wearing a blue and orange crewneck sweater with the word "Broncos" on it.

Wilson and Ciara are no strangers to philanthropy -- not only do they make regular appearances in the community, but they also have the "Why Not You" foundation, which is dedicated to fighting poverty through education and empowering youth to lead.

Spring break is back in full effect as college kids descend on Florida beaches, and while celebs are also jetting off and trying to keep up on the party scene ... it's pretty obvious, most of 'em just can't hang.

Thousands of students are getting their party on in FL this week as spring break really starts to take off. The annual migration started a couple of weeks ago, and usually runs through mid-April.

This is the first spring break in 2 years to have zero COVID restrictions -- although, as we saw, there wasn't exactly a hell of a lot holding them back last year either.

On the celeb side of things ... Kristin Cavallari jetted down to Mexico, where she's sipping on fresh coconut water and soaking in an ocean view ... and Nicole Scherzinger is chasing rainbows over in Hawaii.

Couples are getting in on the spring break action too ... Heather Rae and Tarek El Moussa are taking a load off in Los Cabos, while Nina Dobrev and Shaun White are kicking back in Costa Rica.

Some folks are really logging frequent flier miles -- Ryan Sheckler went all the way to Thailand, and the long flight looks worth it ... he's on his honeymoon and is splashing around with freaking elephants!!!

Check out the galleries, and decide who's doing spring break better. Yeah, celebs might have fancier hotels and excursions -- but, if you're just looking for a party ... hard to top students in the sand.

Here's Pete Davidson bleeding all over the place as he films for his upcoming horror movie ... an image that would probably garner a standing ovation from Kanye West.

Pete's filming scenes for the new Miramax thriller "The Home" in New Jersey ... and the fake blood is a case of art imitating possible life for Kim Kardashian's boyfriend.

Remember ... Pete and Kanye are beefing over Kim, and it's getting ugly. Kanye's already made his fantasies about Pete well known, writing rap lyrics about beating PD up and imagining Pete's death and burial in the accompanying music video.

So, you'd think seeing Pete with a huge gash on his head and blood splattered all over his clothes would seem to be straight out of the mind of Kanye ... but it's just not.

Bloodied Pete Davidson, at least on this Jersey movie set, is the work of 'The Purge' creator James DeMonaco. In "The Home," Pete's character is Max, a troubled guy working at a retirement home who discovers the old folks and caretakers have some serious skeletons in their closets.

Jason Kelce is apparently a man of many talents ... it turns out, the Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman can both bench press defensive linemen AND sing!!!

The NFL star showed off his huge pipes on Monday night -- belting out the national anthem before the 76ers' game against the Nuggets ... and dude did a great job!!

Kelce stood at center court for the song, rocking a Sixers shirt, and serenaded a capacity crowd with his rendition of the "The Star-Spangled Banner."

The fans in the crowd loved it, cheering on every note -- and check out the video, Kelce sure seemed to feel like he crushed the performance.

As for why the Eagles Pro Bowler was tapped to be the guest singer for the game, it's all because of charity.

Kelce agreed to perform at the Wells Fargo Center if his former teammate, Connor Barwin, raised $100,000 or more for his Make The World Better Foundation by the end of 2021, and once he did, it was singing time for JK.

Kanye West has now lawyered up to handle custody issues in his divorce, and we're told this will end up before a judge, unless he reaches some agreement with Kim Kardashian.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, Kanye's lawyer, Samantha Spector, is making custody job #1. As we reported, Kanye groused over the weekend again that Kim is not letting him see their kids when he wants.

That's certainly not the way Kim sees it ... she has welcomed her ex-husband's involvement in their kids' lives and wants him to spend time with their 4 children, and claimed he picked them up for school Monday.

What's more ... our sources say Kanye's spent 3 days with the kids in the last week -- the first time he's been in L.A. since the Super Bowl. Kanye also had 3 of the kids with him at the Donda 2 event in Miami last month -- we're told Kim kept North in L.A. because she had a test at school she'd been studying for that she didn't want to miss -- so Kim made school the priority.

Here's the issue. Up until now, there has been no formal arrangement for custody. They have tried working it out amongst themselves. When Kanye's in town and wants to see the kids, she's game, unless the kids are in the middle of something else.

But, there's clearly a conflict, and it's getting worse. We're told Spector will first try to establish something more formal between Kim and Kanye, but if that doesn't happen she'll go to court and ask a judge to impose ground rules for custody and visitation.

Here's the rub. Kanye travels frequently outside of L.A., and it's hard to formalize a custody arrangement when schedules keep changing.

As we reported, Kim has been doing everything she can to keep things peaceful, but Kanye's so angry over her relationship with Pete Davidson as well as custody issues, the notion of reaching an out-of-court agreement seems unlikely.

Mike Mora, who married Kelis 8 years ago, is dead after a battle with stomach cancer.

A rep for Mike, who was a professional photographer, confirmed the death which comes 6 months after he learned of his cancer diagnosis.

Mike and Kelis had secretly tied the knot back in 2014, and had 2 children together -- 6-year-old son, Shepherd, and 1-year old daughter, Galilee.

In January 2020, they moved away from L.A. with plans to build a home, and a life on a farm outside the city -- but, shortly after the move Mike began experiencing "the worst pain" in his stomach.

He revealed his stage 4 cancer diagnosis back in September, saying ... "I thought the whole time that I just had an ulcer. With no idea what was about to come my way."

He told his followers his symptoms started one year ago, before he had been diagnosed with gastric adenocarcinoma -- and said doctors had given him only 18 months to live.

In another post, he said ... "I never thought this could happen to me. At just 36, with 3 kiddos, and a wife that loves me. I want to be able to help those that might experience something, maybe, hopefully. By showing that it’s possible to make it through."

Mike was 37 when he passed.

Freddie Gibbs doesn't have much sympathy for Jussie Smollett ... he says Jussie belongs behind bars for breaking the law, plain and simple.

We got the rapper at Cookies on Melrose and asked about Jussie's 5-month jail sentence, which the "Empire" star just started serving in Chicago.

Freddie says Jussie should be in jail just like anyone who fakes being the victim of a crime.

It's in sharp contract to Taraji P. Henson ... who is solidly behind Jussie, demanding he be released from jail and comparing Smollett's case to that of Emmett Till.

Freddie thinks Jussie should be set free ... in about 3 to 5 years ... and isn't buying Smollett's view the judge handed down a harsher sentence because he's Black.

Drake's YOLO Estate is drawing the attention of real estate developers who don't really give a crap about its legacy as a celeb party palace -- instead, they wanna tear it all down.

TMZ has learned ... in addition to celebs like Britney Spears and Caitlyn Jenner, multiple real estate developers have visited Drake's 3 side-by-side properties in the past few days, and they're all licking their chops to convert them into one mega estate.

We broke the story ... Drake put the Hidden Hills properties on the market, asking $22.2 million for the full compound, or a mere $14.8 mil for his main residence alone. We're told the developers don't think the mansion itself needs to be razed, but homes on the 2 adjacent properties would likely be demolished.

Drake did a lot of renovations on the main property. Our sources say the potential buyers like his interior remodeling, but the exterior grounds could get a makeover.

As it was explained to us ... some developers are looking at this property similar to the Kris Jenner and Khloe Kardashian massive neighboring properties, which are also in Hidden Hills.

We're told several offers have already been made for Drake's estate in less than a week.

"Big Time Rush" star Stephen Kramer Glickman is going crazy over an offer from CeeLo Green, who wants him to be his opener for an upcoming gig ... and it's all thanks to TikTok.

Stephen tells TMZ ... CeeLo invited him to get the crowd warmed up at a charity event next month in Dallas, with the invitation coming his way after the Gnarls Barkley singer heard Stephen's rendition of the group's famous hit.

As Stephen explains, he went viral back in 2020 when he covered "Crazy" and posted it on TikTok -- singing with a green beard, by the way -- and tons of celebs noticed, like Lizzo and Addison Rae, but the biggest rush came when CeeLo shared the post.

Stephen says a charity based in Dallas, Face Forward, hit his line one day and told him CeeLo personally wanted him to be the opener for their upcoming gala. He says the offer blew his mind, and you better believe he's going!

The best part, Stephen says he's going to sing "Crazy" before passing the mic to CeeLo!!!

Traci Braxton, the sister of Toni Braxton, has died ... TMZ has learned.

Traci's Husband Kevin Surratt tells TMZ ... "We have come to a time where we must inform the public that after a year of privately undergoing a series of treatment for Esophageal cancer our beloved Traci Braxton has gone on to glory."

We're told Traci's sisters, mom and friends were by her side when she passed.

Traci appeared on the family's reality show, "Braxton Family Values." She was an actress, best known for "Sinners Wanted." She also appeared in "There's a Stranger in my House" and "Chaaw." She recorded a hit song, "Last Call," that rose to #16 on the Billboard Hot 100. She also recorded "Broken Things" featuring her sisters, Toni, Towanda and Trina.

As you know, Traci has famous sisters ... Toni, Towanda, Tamar and Trina.

The family has experienced other recent tragedies. Her niece, Lauren Braxton, died from a heroin and fentanyl OD back in 2019 at age 24.

The last time we saw Traci she was joking and laughing with our cameras on the streets of NYC in April 2019.

Traci leaves a husband, Kevin Surratt and a child.

She was 50.

RIP

Drake is going where he hasn't gone before -- at least in his famous adulthood -- and that would be ... long braided hair, a look that he's now rockin' and rockin' well!

Champagne Papi debuted the new hairstyle this weekend, showing off two photos that gave fans an up-close view of his hair tied up and braided back -- something we just haven't seen from Drake since he splashed onto the scene way back in the last 2000s.

Unclear if he's planning to keep the 'do and let his hair grow out even more -- but we'll say this ... he should definitely consider it ... 'cause the braids suit him well.

What might have caught some off by surprise is the fact his strands were long enough to braid at all -- but, if you've been paying attention ... it might come as no surprise. He has, indeed, been sporting a bit of a poof lately -- as seen in photos of him at events like The Weeknd's birthday party last month ... and even clips of him on tropical vacations.

He's been kinda sly about it ... but yeah, the dude's been low-key letting his hair down. And now, he's got the final product on full display. We're curious to see what the back looks like -- because although his hair is longer than usual, it doesn't seem long enough to have a trailing effect from behind ... at least not yet!

Here's the funny thing ... Drizzy's own kid, Adonis, appears to have actually gotten a jump on braids first -- which is kinda crazy to think about.

As you know, Adonis has quite the mane on him ... with remarkably long locks, which he often has up in a 'fro style -- but he's also been known to get his hair knotted up, which we've seen on the biggest of stages next to his old man.

Hailey Bieber was hospitalized with a brain condition that doctors think may be COVID-related ... sources close to Hailey tell TMZ.

We're told Hailey was admitted to a Palm Springs area hospital a few days ago after suffering a "medical emergency." We're told it affected the way she moved, and the symptoms are typical for much older people. Hailey is 25.

Our sources say doctors ran a battery of tests and are looking to see if the symptoms involve COVID. As we reported, Justin came down with COVID a few weeks ago and has since recovered. As you know, Justin had to postpone his Vegas concert after coming down with the virus.

We're told Hailey has been released from the hospital and doctors are still trying to determine what caused the issues.

Our sources say she's now doing ok.

Tom Parker from The Wanted is bravely dealing with his illness ... confined for a time to a wheelchair after undergoing treatment for brain cancer.

His bandmate, Max George, posted this pic of Tom Friday in a wheelchair. Max captioned the pic of Tom, who looked chill, "I mean ... come on😍."

Tom was diagnosed back in October 2020, with stage 4 glioblastoma. Last year he say the cancer is being held at bay.

Tom had been getting treatments in Spain at a clinic that specializes in this type of cancer. The treatment lasted 3 weeks, and he was able to rejoin the band last month in an emotional reunion. He also appeared on stage at a U.K. concert and performed on a gold throne!

Max posted some pics of Tom after his return from Spain.

The Wanted has really stepped up ... pledging that one pound for every ticket sold will go to brain cancer research.